You’re lucky. You had the opportunity to travel, to see a new culture from the inside. Regardless of how your experience actually unravelled, you were one of the few that had a unique chance to live somewhere new, to meet new people and ultimately, to accumulate a lot of knowledge about a topic previously new to you. But what is the point of this knowledge? How are you supposed to store it, share it, use it, apply it?
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of travellers, of digital nomads and of those who adopt travelling as a lifestyle is that of sharing content, of sharing insights and impressions, of sharing a story about the effect of a journey. When you’re on the road, you feel as if you’re going to remember every single detail, every smell and every flavour, and you will have the perfect words to describe it to your friends or loved ones. However, this might not be the case. As new experiences go, travelling is definitely an overload, a layering of novel sensations and perceptions, and can be overwhelming. Remembering it in detail is thus naturally, even more overwhelming.
In my view, the most important aspect a story needs is detail – passionate, accurate and lively detail. So what can you do to be able to remember?
- Write it down. It is impossible to stress this enough. Whether it is in the form of a paper journal, an online blog, a series of pictures on which you write on, buying postcards from every place you visit and jotting down some remarks – whatever it is that works for you, find it and do it. While it might sound tedious, and you might feel like you don’t have enough time to do so, you won’t regret it once your experience is over. These little paragraphs ( not necessarily coherent or grammatically correct – although points to you if you are able to write poetry after a day of walking around!) will jot your memory like nothing else, and bring your experience to life whenever you feel like taking a stroll down memory lane.
- Get souvenirs. And here, I don’t mean buying something from the over-priced, tourist-fabricated little shop at the end of the road. I mean getting a sea shell from a beach ( granted you’ve checked and you’re allowed to transport it over the border), a rock, a leaf, anything that will prove to be a visual aid when trying to re-create a landscape or a scenery. Whether you want to keep a couple of beer labels or you want to take back a piece of a banana tree leaf is your choice, but you’ll remember it fondly.
- Talk to people. You’ll find out so much more this way. Of course, make sure first that you are in a safe environment. Don’t approach strangers unless you are absolutely sure you will be safe doing so. But once you do, you are bound to find tidbits of history, local intrigue and opinions that are unlikely to be forgotten. One cab-driver in Malaysia was able to recount the entire history of the rubber industry of his country during a 45 minute cab ride to the air-port. I still remember what he told us.
- Make sure you take the time to look around. Perhaps this sounds superfluous, or even silly. But I promise you it’s not. Taking the time to really observe some of the social dynamics around you will lead you to ask lots of questions, feeding your curiosity.
How to share once you’re back is just as tricky. A lot of the time, I found that friends and family will have their own set of expectations about what your time abroad consisted of. Sometimes, it can go something like this:
“Oh my gosh, you must have had such an amazing time in Singapore”
“Well…yes, it was really fun, but it was not always fun and there were a lot of things that were challenging”
By no means does this imply that the person travelling is not grateful for the opportunity given. It does not mean they did not learn from it, and it does not mean they do not appreciate the chance they had to travel. But experiences are never completely one sided, so in order to fully capture the complexity of time spent away, one will have to share both positive and negative.
- Start with a general note. Talk about the place itself, the logistics of the experience, the other places you’ve seen while away.
- Prepare yourself beforehand to answer questions like: What was your favourite place? What was your favourite food? Where would you like to go back if you went back now?
- Be flexible to your audience’s needs. A couple of years back, after returning from a Holocaust Study Tour, I became acutely aware of the need to assess your audience’s state before trying to share thoughts about your trip. To do so in any meaningful way will have an impact on those who are listening, and you must be willing to offer support and clarification when necessary.
- Use any of the things talked above – pictures, souvenirs, or any other items that will make your story more tangible, more real.
- Whether or not your journey had a scope, or an underlying theme, try to find something that connects it together. Most people are more likely to remember a message, a unifying undertone if presented that way.
- Be unique, and be honest. It will be evident if you’re sharing your own thoughts, and your audience will appreciate it.
Lastly, it’s important to note that both remembering and sharing are skills that you learn in time. While some people are great storytellers with minimal effort, most of us have to work at improving the way in which we learn and share. So don’t be discouraged if your first attempt ends up being a laundry list of events, or a disjointed explanation of travel mishaps. This is something you can improve and work on.
Happy travels! 
Student Writers
Alexandra Petre
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